In a week when many local companies saw their stock prices dropping into black holes, Edison International was a rare bright spot.

The Rosemead electric utility is the parent company of Southern California Edison, which supplies electricity to an approximately 50,000-square-mile region in the southern part of the state.

The stock markets were hurt by uncertainty – both from the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold off on raising interest rates and turmoil in China and emerging markets – and investors fled from more speculative sectors such as technology and drug companies. Instead, they pushed their chips toward the more stable business of providing electric power to households and businesses.

Edison’s shares surged 4 percent during the week ended Sept. 30, closing at $63.07. That modest increase made the company one of the biggest gainers on the LABJ Stock Index, which fell by 2 percent on the week. (See page 22.)

Utilities are often seen as safe havens during times of global volatility. For instance, Edison’s business of providing power to Southern Californians is not influenced by a slowdown in the Chinese market. Also, the dividends paid by utilities such as Edison – which recently announced a quarterly payment of about 42 cents a share, can serve as a replacement for the cash flows provided by fixed-income investments – which have become less enticing as rock-bottom interest rates have depressed yields. Edison’s payout yields close to 2.7 percent at last week’s price.

While the New York Stock Exchange, on which Edison’s stock trades, is down 4.4 percent over the last 52 weeks, Edison’s stock is up 13 percent during that time.

An Edison spokesman declined to comment to the Business Journal.

Research analysts have also taken note. Edison is currently rated a “buy” by 17 out of the 24 analysts covering the company. Four rate the company a “hold” and only one a “sell.” Their average target price for the firm is $66.26 a share.

An analyst at New York finance giant Citigroup Inc. initiated coverage on Edison on Sept. 18, giving the company a “buy” rating with a target price of $68 a share. And on Aug. 27, Greg Gordon, an analyst at New York brokerage firm Evercore ISI, raised his price target on the firm from $63 to $65 and changed his rating from “hold” to “buy.”